Archana Dhawan wants a boy-free zone this semester abroad. Fresh off a breakup, she’s headed to Rajasthan, India—her parents’ homeland—determined to find herself and thrive at her dream art museum internship. No drama. No distractions.

Alas, the universe is trying to tempt her. On day one, she meets the hottest boy on the train. Soon after, she runs into him again at work. Not only is the museum tied to a palace, but the cute guy, Shiv, is a royal gardener!

As he takes her to the most gorgeous local spots, their undeniable chemistry grows. Then Archi gets shocking news: Shiv is not who he seems. Now she’s left wondering—was this brush with love the beginning of something warm and complex or just another bittersweet end?

This was a lovely book with a strong message about the effects of colonialism and the continuation of art history balanced with the joy of a rom-com as promised.

Archi is a typical heroine who seeks to have a boy-free semester after a bad break-up with a jerk that prioritized himself over her. She also prioritized him over, but you can guess by the first page that she won’t be able to keep that vow.

Shiv is seriously romance hero gold. He bakes, he gardens, he loves rom-coms, and is thoughtful, playful and sweet. Love a guy who is unafraid of his sensitive side. He was so good that I had to agree with Archi’s friends to be cautious because it was too good to be true. I don’t feel like it’s spoilers because the summary heavily implies its going to be a royal romance, but the one flaw in the book was how long it took for the reveal.

Don’t get me wrong, Avachat does a good job in making Shiv’s omission lies plausible enough that Archi doesn’t look like a total idiot for not realizing he’s a royal prince, not royal gardener. But as I was waiting for the shoe to drop for two-thirds of the novel, it made me impatient. It also made the third-act break-up feel disproportionate because Archi is so blindsided, but I didn’t feel it, you know. Nor was she able to wrap her head around the idea that there would have been legal contracts and privacy issues if he had told her at the beginning, and he had a reasonable fear that she wouldn’t like him the same way if she knew the truth-or worse, infatuation would turn into greed. That’s the problem with Shiv being so good, I feel more bad for him than her in the break-up. Probably wrong of me or whatever.

But I did enjoy that in the time they had apart, Archi was able to have the distance to see that being with Shiv doesn’t necessitate her prioritizing him or that she wasn’t able to do things for herself. She accomplished so much with her curation, and being with Shiv, only inspired her more and helped her connect more.

And okay, yes, the last minute run for to share her feelings did get a smile out of me as cheesy as it was. It was just so heartfelt at the same time.

The heavier topic of artifact repatriation and museum curation was interesting too. Same with Shiv’s love of cooking. Avachat did an excellent job in depicting their passion in their interests, enfolding the reader into why it’s so fascinating as well. I was fully invested in Archi’s Ready to Return exhibit. Almost even more than the romance. I knew the romance was going to turn out fine, I wanted to know how the exhibit would be presented, and how her message would come across. It did not disappoint.

Additionally, I believe Avachat succeeded in her wish to honor her mother’s homeland. The beauty and culture of Jaipur was immersive, letting readers experience their own travelogue of the markets, monkey-strewn Hindu temples, delectable restaurants and the variety of art Rajasthan has to offer.

4 stars.